I Shall Wear Midnight

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was ha-LARious! I enjoyed it as much as the previous 3 in this series. I highly recommend this to anyone needing a good hearty laugh~ :) And now I want to read the rest of the Discworld books...


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Leo the Snow Leopard

Leo, The Snow Leopard by Craig Hatkoff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Well, it's about a baby snow leopard rescue, so of COURSE I loved it! The pictures of Leo are fantastic, and so expressive. He was raised by people, and as a result is very friendly with his keepers- I find myself wistfully thinking what a career in a large zoo, like the Bronx Zoo, would be like taking care of big cats. Leo is so adorable, I wish I could sink my fingers deep into his fur! :)


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Mockingjay (book 3) by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Dang. Finished this series finally- I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen at then end, but that wasn't what I could have guessed at. This is one of those series that I'll think about for a long time...


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Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book! I cannot WAIT for the next book, Linger, (which I ordered for my library a week ago! A WEEK ago!) to get here! For any Twilight lovers out there, this is similar, but substitute wolves for vampires. Not werewolves per se, but wolves. And no vampires.

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"Missing" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book in the series, and every bit as good as the first book, "Found." I found myself assigning it as science fiction rather than fantasy because of their time travels, although I also desperately wanted to give it a historical fiction tag (in my own mind) because I wanted what I read about the past to be true...

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The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was my first Sherlock Holmes novel, and I quite enjoyed it! I loved the language and the creative devices used to solve the murder, even though I figured out the culprit as soon as the figure was introduced (don't want to spoil it for anyone!). However, there were two things at the end I didn't quite predict, and that's what kept me on my proverbial toes!

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Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book has been on my to-read shelf since my junior year in high school (so about 15 years). Well, funny enough, the teen book club that I host at the Carson City Library chose this book to read as their January book (YES! They chose a classic!), so finally had the opportunity to stop putting off reading it. It began as I expected- a 1932 vision of what the future might hold. Surprisingy, some things have come to pass, where as others... I shudder to think, still could. The idea of Stability, sought out to the point of opression of all strong emotion, is a scary thought, even if it does end wars. Soma. For drug induced holidays and happiness. Yikes. The book ended differently than I had hoped it would, but completely understand why it had to happen that way. Aldus Huxley accomplished in me what I think he meant to- this book was written to draw forth strong emotions and got my brain whirling. Made me never want to see a world in which this one takes place~

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The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a great book at perhaps a third grade reading level, for those kids just getting into the longer chapters. They aren't long and introduce more difficult words, but not too often. A touching story with a predictable ending, but still not quite how I'd imagined. Peter is a lovely boy, one any mom would be proud to call her own. It said on the back cover that it is a must read-aloud book, and I quite agree. For those of you that like to read in the car on long trips~ :)

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The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have been listening to a lot of audio books and podcasts lately. This is not one that I chose to listen to however- I needed the print copy to hold in my hands and carry with me everywhere I went. Not (only) because it is a terrific novel, but because of the nature of the story and the need to flip back and forth between years and dates. Henry is "time-challenged" just as some people are height or weight challenged, to put it in PC terms. Not everyone, just Henry, and he has no control over the when, where or for how long he stays. Because his life is so non-linear, the author follows his wife, Claire's life more closely as Henry pops in and out her life as she grows up. I don't want to give away what they experience, but instead reflect on time. Thinking about my own life and how time passes always makes me nostalgic. I don't know what it is that makes me sad at times- maybe that I can't go back? Watching (my) children grow and change does this to me too. To read about time passing forward and back, the tribulations, and the constant and unconditional love shared by Henry and Claire really made me ache. But most of all, it was Claire's waiting for Henry that did me in~ she is a much stronger woman than I...

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Free to All: Carnegie Libraries & American Culture

Free to All: Carnegie Libraries & American Culture, 1890-1920 by Abigail A. Van Slyck

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read quite a bit of “Free to All” for my Public Libraries class, and greatly enjoyed pouring through all the photographs and floor plans of the old libraries- the grand arched entries and classical colonnades that are easily recognizable as libraries, even today. I was surprised to see different subject areas housed in different rooms instead of all together (fine arts, social sciences, music) and stack rooms in the back (housing what types of volumes exactly?) that only library workers had access to. But despite the housing differences, I still saw many similarities to today's libraries: meeting rooms and auditoriums (in the large city libraries), and lots of tables and chairs for reading and study. They were public meeting places, even if the libraries then had a much more pensive atmosphere, and daunting librarians watching over their tomes.

I was very pleased to read about Melvil Dewey’s positive stance on women working in the library (even if it might sound a little sexist with today’s career freedoms). He got women interested in working in the library and appealed to their sense of order and enticed them with the quiet atmosphere away from the hectic tiring job of a teacher. He expressed to others concerned with their advancement in the profession by saying, “The natural qualities most important in library work are accuracy, order (or what we call the housekeeping instinct), executive ability, and above all earnestness and enthusiasm.” (p. 163) There were many men who felt the librarian profession was already shaky in its recognition of stature and credibility. I knew there were few professions open to women during this time period (mainly teachers and nurses), but I didn’t know many specifics of how they came to the library profession, or how they were discriminated against in pay (receiving up to a full quarter less then the men in the same position), and in position- they were only allowed to hold lower assistant positions dealing mainly in clerical work- cataloging, index making, book repair and working with children, but need not be “bookish” or need that “intellectual spark” that was considered necessary for the highly sought reference positions.

Andrew Carnegie received a lot of criticism for how he dispensed his funds through libraries. I think because he had so much money to give, and a vision of libraries across the nation, he needed a plan. A plan that would help him determine where to build, and how to divide funds. I think if he just gave the cities and towns a chunk of money, there are so many different ways it would have been used, and many of them probably would not have followed his vision. So he was strict on whom he dealt with (city officials only), and the architecture and structure of the library itself. I think that he was fair in giving money only for the building itself and letting the cities furnish and fill with books, because nothing should be completely free, and also in doing so the town could take ownership of its new library.

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The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts by Douglas Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Douglas Adams is hilariously clever, and I'm looking forward to the next 3 (well 4, someday 5 with some help from Eoin Colfer?) books in this trilogy. His writing style reminds me very much of Terry Pratchett. This is a fantastic book to listen to on CD, although it makes for slightly dangerous driving when I'm laughing so hard I nearly drive into the people next to me... (okay, not really)

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Hatching Magic

Hatching Magic by Ann Downer


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cute book about wyverns, which I knew little about. (Mostly I like to read about dragons, but this was a good bridge-over). Fast read about a girl named Theodora with a penchant for wyverns, and as luck would have it, a newborn falls right in her lap! But she must be on the watch-out for wizards- both the good kind, and the bad. Who can she trust? And what about the demon that has inhabited her caretaker? And her father losing his tenure at the university?

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"Cardcaptor Sakura" Vol. 1, by Clamp

Card Captor Sakura, Volume 1 by Clamp


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My first exposure to Japanese manga (or at least the first manga book I've read in years!), and it was a good one! Very predictable, but I still enjoyed it, and might just finish the other 5 books in the Cardcaptor Sakura series. Cute illustrations, as is typical of Japanese manga and anime. And BTW, I learned that it is pronounced Mon-ga, not Mang-a. And this is specifically Shojo manga, meaning a girl story. Shojo manga is typically about a heroine striving for love and friendship (as opposed to Shonen, meaning boy, which are usually about warriors striving for more power), but not lacking in any way the adventure a Shonen book may have. See? I did learn something in my graphic novels class. :) Fun.

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"Cancer Vixen" by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

Cancer Vixen: A True Story by Marisa Acocella Marchetto


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read “Cancer Vixen” which were very emotional read for me. It got me thinking about all of my family (my grandmother had breast cancer, but is in remission), and the prayers flowing! I had seen this book on the display at the library where I work for quite a while, but I was rather turned off by the cover art. Specifically, her face- her eyes and eyebrows looked mean, and did not at all scream, “Cancer Victim!” But after reading the book, the body language of her in a “falling-on-her-butt” position makes total sense- that the breast cancer she battled knocked her there, and out of the blue (even if I still didn’t like the eyes-on the cover only though). I pictured myself in Marisa's (beautiful designer) shoes, and wondered how I would stand up to this most ultimate of life tests? “Cancer Vixen” was great as an illustrated story, because I feel like I got to hear and see Marisa’s tale through her eyes and ears- this was a wonderful first-person account of a very personal and life-altering experience, and it didn’t need to be super graphic. The bright colors personified Marissa character for me, and I absolutely LOVED her shoes! (If I had the money to blow on shoes, and the personality to match them…) I think “Cancer Vixen” is a graphic novel every woman should read- to know what having cancer can be like, and as an inspiration to get regular mammograms, and know that this cancer is something you can survive! With spiked-heels!

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"Pedro and Me" by Judd Winick

Pedro and Me by Judd Winick


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Pedro and Me” faces a very difficult topic: AIDS, and if this novel was told with actual pictures instead of drawings, it might have been too difficult for me to read. As an illustrator, Judd Winick did a marvelous job capturing facial expressions and emotions of the people in his life, maybe even better (in a more dramatic fashion) than a photograph could have. And at the same time, because they were illustrations and not photos, it made the story a more bearable one to read, and to connect with. As for the cover of “Pedro and Me,” I was left wondering who was pictured on the cover- Pedro or Judd. But I was grateful at the same time, to see an actual photograph of the lives I was precariously living through in this graphic novel.

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"Maus" by Art Spiegelman

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Maus” made a huge impression me- I know my history- I have no delusions of what happened in WW2 and what horrors and evils the Nazi Germans spread to the farthest reaches of the planet. But every time I read a book about the concentration camps, or so much as flip through the book while checking it in, I have to stop what I’m doing. And I cry. Seeing the photos always makes me take an assessment of my life- of how much I have: my family, my job, my friends, my life. And no matter how bad of a day I might be having, reading the stories of Holocaust victims makes anything I might be worrying about pale into nothing. I read “Nacht” by Elie Wiesel straight through from cover to cover because of its gripping narration. “Maus” was a MUCH easier format to read on this particular topic, and yet it still conveyed the emotions and sorrows with as much power as if it was in novel form. And even though it was illustrated and not a photographic portrayal of the events, it still gave a vivid visual to the horrors, and I had to stop reading when Richieu died (pp 108-109). But also because of this format (illustrations versus photos, and its personal storytelling account versus textbook facts), it would make a very appropriate teaching tool in a school setting- it is something that a younger population could understand, and yet maybe not have the nightmares they might get from other formats. Or not comprehend the depth of destruction and genocide the Nazis visited on their victims.

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Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was certainly an eye-opening experience of the Iranian War through the eyes of a child (the memories of a woman told as an adult). Marjane Satrapi's parents were very forward thinking people and resisted the oppressive leaders every step of the way. Many of their friends and family were tortured and killed for standing up for their beliefs, and I had to take a break half way through. The pictures are not not too graphic- but they get the point across in clear bold strokes. We have so many pre-conceived notions about countries in the middle east and why the women hide themselves behind the chadr, but now I know how some of them fought it and rebelled by showing strategic strands of hair and painting their nails. This black and white graphic is very powerful, and even though I did have to put it down for a little while, I still finished the book later that day. I recommend it to anyone interested in world culture and history.

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Babymouse: Heartbreaker

Babymouse: Heartbreaker by Jennifer L. Holm


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cute book! I read this for my graphic novels class, and I can see why elementary-aged girls love this series, and the quote, "Typical."


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A Hat Full of Sky

A Hat Full of Sky: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was hilarious! The narrator, Stephen Briggs, does excellent voices for all the witches, as he also did for "The Wintersmith." I am reading this series in reverse order, but not on purpose. But that's okay because I haven't missed out on the current story for not having read the previous ones. It's just like learning more history about Tiffany, our little protagonist, and how she became to be the strong confident person she is. On several occasions the little Wee Free Men (the title of the next previous book I'm going to listen to in this series) had me laughing so hard the other drivers on the road must have thought I was bonkers! :)


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The Supernaturalist

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed Eoin Colfer's book "Airman" so much that I picked up the only other book of his that I hadn't read: The Supernaturalist. (How could I not with that cool cover?) It was not what I was expecting, but it was still a fun quick read. Very creative, with twist after twist that left me guessing who were the good guys and who were not.


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